|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
The Case for Privatization
| Article
# : |
18740 |
|
|
Section : |
SPECIAL SECTION
|
| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1991 |
3,986 Words |
| Author
: |
Robert W. Poole, Jr.
Robert W. Poole, Jr. is president of the Reason Foundation,
Santa Monica, California. |
America in Ruins, a book the Reason Foundation's Washington analyst Pat Choate published several years ago, first raised to national awareness the issue of decaying and inadequate infrastructure. Many other studies have followed suit, generating estimates of the magnitude of the problem.
For example, in 1984, Congress' Joint Economic Committee estimated that infrastructure construction and maintenance needs over the next fifteen years would total over $1 trillion. Most of that total was for transportation--$720 billion for highways and bridges and $178 billion for mass transit. These sums were far less than would be available from current funding sources.
In 1984 Congress created the National Council on Public Works Improvement (NCPWI) to assess the problem. After three years of work, it published Fragile Foundations, a 1988 report that documented the declining share of the U.S. gross national product being invested in public works and recommended doubling the present level of capital spending on infrastructure.
The magnitude of recent estimates of infrastructure-spending shortfalls may well be exaggerated. For example, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) told Congress in 1986 that it would cost $51 billion to repair and replace the nation's 240,000 deficient bridges. But a 1988 analysis of this report by the General Accounting Office concluded that FHWA's estimate was questionable because it included bridges that are not deficient, bridges that states have no intention of rehabilitating, and other bridges that can be fixed without major rehabilitation.
Similarly, a 1988 Congressional Budget Office study takes issue with NCPWI's uncritical acceptance of the Association of General Contractors' estimate of $118 billion per year in needed infrastructure investment. Interest groups, whether private or governmental, that stand to benefit from increased spending have an understandable incentive to exaggerate the need for such spending.
Nevertheless, it is undeniable that this country faces serious infrastructure problems:
-Despite the soaring growth of air travel, only one major new airport (in Denver) is under development, while present traffic levels lead to serious delays at many congested hubs. The U.S. Department of Transportation puts the annual cost of airline delays at $5
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
